quick and healthy stuffed bells

Hey Everyone,
I made these stuffed bell peppers on Friday night in about 30 minutes! They are super healthy, and if you don't eat oranges, eating bell peppers is a great way to get in a good amount of Vitamin C to help prevent those common winter colds. Here's another tidbit: Did you know that the lighter a bell pepper is, the sweeter it tastes? So the yellow ones are significantly sweeter than the green ones, but this time of year they're also a lot more expensive. But once these green bell peppers are boiled for just a few minutes (about 5), they are tender enough to bite into, and their overall strong, raw flavor subsides during the cooking process.

You can stuff these bell peppers with almost anything, but I used the basic recipe template that my mom introduced me to, which included ground turkey and rice. I added in a few extra veggies to the rice, because I like incorporating veggies into my dishes as often as possible. Here's the general recipe I used. I didn't get a chance to measure because I was so hungry. I just wanted to eat! But I really do think these are pretty easy to whip-up and hard to mess-up. They're so flavorful, and not to mention festive looking!

This is what went into the rice (I made this in the rice cooker!)
1 cup white rice
2 cups water
1/8 cup chopped olives
1 1/2 tsp olive oil
a few pinches of garlic salt
1 chicken bouillon cube
2 TBSP dehydrated veggie soup blend
2 medium-sized celery sticks, chopped
about 1/3 cup frozen peas & carrots

One thing I'd like to mention is that I mixed the rice half way into the cooking process because I wanted to make sure all the ingredients were equally distributed-it didn't negatively influence the rice (I know it's not a good idea to continually stir rice when cooking it, but I think doing it once or twice is ok, I haven't had any problems with this yet). Oh, and this recipe will make enough to fill about 5 bell peppers.

As the rice cooked, I cooked 1 lb of ground turkey with the following ingredients:
2.5 TBSP Pace Picante
a few pinches of garlic powder
a few pinches onion powder
2 tsp basil
a few sprinkles of black pepper
1/8 cup chopped sweet onion
1/8-1/4 cup chopped green onion

While the meat cooks in one pan, you can wash the bell peppers, then cut the tops off with a knife. You'll also want to use the knife to cut out the "insides" of the bells. I filled up a small soup pot with about 1 1/2 cups of water, then set the bell peppers in there standing upright. I cooked them over a medium flame for about 5-7 minutes, or until they were slightly tender but not falling apart. I made sure to put the tops in the pot too.

I also made the sauce that goes along very well with the bell pepper, it adds a little bit of natural sweetness to the dish
1 1/2 tbsp butter
1 tsp olive oil
1/4 cup cheese
2 tbsp sour cream
about 1/2 cup of tomato sauce
a pinch of salt
1 1/2 tsp Italian Seasoning

This should simmer in a sauce pan for about 5 minutes over a low-med flame, or at least until everything is melted together.

It's a good idea to mix the rice and meat together before stuffing the bell peppers. I also think that adding in a few sprinkles of colby/jack cheese to the rice/meat blend adds some nice flavor. After serving the bell peppers, each person can drizzle the tomato sauce/topping on top of the bell pepper, or you can serve it on the side. It's that easy, and it really is pretty good...but the best part about these bell peppers is how healthy they are!

I hope you all had a blessed and restful Thanksgiving. I had the opportunity to make Jose's family a Thanksgiving meal this year and it was a lot of fun. I was telling Jose afterward that when I was younger, I was so intimidated at the thought of making an entire Thanksgiving meal all by myself. I was afraid I'd undercook the turkey, or that I'd have to rely on canned goods for every side dish... I thought it would be an exhausting, stressful, and unrewarding process... But, thankfully, this year I was able to discover it's actually quite the opposite. Sure, it took a little while, but it was fun. I think one of the tougher parts about it was that I had to cook for a group instead of just one or two people, so I was a little worried that I wouldn't season things right...but somehow it all worked out and there wasn't a complaint made about the food!

One thing I still really want to get the hang of is tamale-making, though. In my family, my grandmother usually makes tamales for Christmas/New Years and I'd really like to whip them up the way she does, effortlessly. I have a feeling I'd probably just end up with a kitchen disaster...but who knows, maybe it'll turn out the way the Thanksgiving meal did if I just give it a try? Hmm...probably not. Just last year I was helping her roll up the tamale dough in corn husks before she cooked them, and that was tough enough for me. It's a lot harder than it looks! Still, I have a strange feeling my attitude about the tamale-making process will change...just wait and see.

Moving on to this apple-oatmeal bar recipe; I have baked this over and over again. I made it for Jose's Thanksgiving office party, then I made it for my mom, then I made it for Jose's family as a Thanksgiving dessert...it's been a hit every time! I was bored one night and, as usual, had a sweet tooth for something not too heavy but still carby, so I made these apple-oatmeal bars. The initial recipe is completely fat free, but the next couple of times I made it, I decided that butter should be included in the topping. Sometimes butter does make it better, especially when used in moderation.

This is even easy to make because everything can pretty much be mixed up in one bowl, and I love that because that means there are less dishes to wash in the end!

Apple-Oatmeal Bars
2 Cups flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup milk
2 eggs
1/4 cup apple juice
2/3 cups apple sauce
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 TBSP cinnamon
a pinch of nutmeg
1 TBSP apple pie spice
These ingredients can all be mixed together in the same bowl, then put in a large baking dish (9X13"). Put in the oven for 10 minutes at 325 then add the following topping:

The topping (unhealthy version):
1 small fuji apple, cut into little cubes
1/2 tbsp vanilla extract
1/3 cup brown sugar
2 1/2 tbsp melted butter
1 2/3 cups oatmeal
You can mix all these ingredients together in a bowl, then add it to the top of the bread dough (10 minutes after it's been in the oven). I also lightly sprinkled the topping with cinnamon and sugar.

Fat-free healthier topping:
1 small fuji apple, cut into little cubes
1/2 tbsp vanilla extract
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 2/3 cups oatmeal
1/3 cup vanilla soymilk
1/8 cup honey


Raise the temp of the oven to 350 and bake for about 50 more minutes to an hour.

Now it's time to start thinking about a Christmas dessert! I can't wait for my favorite holiday, we purchased and decorated our tree just today! I'm counting down :)...and so are my guineas, yoshi and mochi!